Weber spurs Illini to victory over Loyola

Greg Stewart

Saturday

Dec 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 29, 2007 at 12:52 PM

When the Illini started the second half slowly, Bruce Weber and his scratchy voice lit into his team again: "You better get some emotion!" the Illini coach screamed loud enough to be heard over a sell-out crowd of 16,618 at Assembly Hall. They got the message. Illinois (8-4) clicked in the second half and cruised to a 77-43 victory over the visitors from Baltimore.

Bruce Weber wasn't satisfied with the 13-point halftime lead his Illinois basketball team held in Friday's nonconference home game against Loyola (Md.).
"I got after 'em at halftime, and they were pouting a little bit, sulking," the Illinois coach said.
When the Illini started the second half slowly, Weber and his scratchy voice lit into his team again: "You better get some emotion!" the Illini coach screamed loud enough to be heard over a sell-out crowd of 16,618 at Assembly Hall.
They got the message. Illinois (8-4) clicked in the second half and cruised to a 77-43 victory over the visitors from Baltimore.
On the first possession after Weber's directive, freshman guard Demetri McCamey ripped down a defensive rebound, raced out of the pack and whipped an outlet pass to Shaun Pruitt in the left corner of the Illinois offensive end. Filling the lane, Brian Randle took Pruitt's chest pass, elevated and jammed home a crowd-pleasing dunk.
McCamey added a three-point play on the next trip, and Randle returned Pruitt's dunk assist three plays later. At the first media time out of the second half, Illinois led 45-20. Randle, the 6-foot-8 senior from East Peoria, added another putback dunk and a 3 to put the Illini ahead 25, and they enjoyed a 20-plus advantage the rest of the way.
"The first half was pretty rough, regardless of the score," Randle said. "But the second half was a lot better.
“That's something that tends to happen over Christmas break. Everybody tends to slow down, us and the crowd."
With 9:28 left in the game, Randle checked out with 17 points, which tied his career high set earlier this season against Arizona State. He also had eight rebounds. Pruitt finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, the fifth straight game the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week has had more than 10 points and eight rebounds.
"We did a good job of playing off each other," Randle said. "We joke about it, but in all seriousness, we know that when we play well it will open up things for everyone else."
Loyola (5-7) set a futility mark for the lowest shooting percentage in the 44-year history of Assembly Hall. The Greyhounds were 13-of-65 from the floor (.200), getting under the .210 Penn State shot here in 2004.
"Sorry we shot the ball so poorly," Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos said. "It had everything to do with their defense, but it was a great experience being here.
"I got chills when I walked into Assembly Hall."
Apparently, all the shooters did, too.
Both teams shot poorly in the opening minutes. Loyola missed eight of 10 shots before the first official time out, while Illinois one-upped them by missing nine of 10 to that point. Illinois misfired three more times and trailed 5-4 more than six minutes into the game before it found its stroke.
Point guard Chester Frazier buried a 3-pointer from the right wing -- his fourth trey since the team left Hawaii Nov. 20 -- to ignite the crowd at 13:25. On the next trip down the floor, Frazier took a crosscourt pass from Randle, but passed up the open 3 and fed a trailing McCamey.
The freshman from Westchester St. Joseph hit the open 3, then added another three possessions later, and the Illini had a 15-2 spurt and a 10-point lead.
Illinois extended its lead to 13 by halftime, 31-18. Loyola continued to shoot poorly against the Illini's aggressive defense. The Greyhounds were 5 of 33 (.152) before the break, including a 1 of 13 mark (.077) from 3-point range.
Loyola senior Gerald Brown, who is a close friend of Illinois junior Chester Frazier, entered the game needing just six points to surpass 1,000 for his career. Brown finished with 16 points, but he needed 18 shots to get them.
ILLINI ITEMS: Former Manual athletics director Mike Hampton attended his first Illinois game Friday, tickets courtesy of Wayne McClain. ... The 34-point margin of victory was the largest for the Illini this season. ... Illinois committed just nine turnovers, a season low. ... Illinois also grabbed a season-high 54 rebounds. ... Bill Cole, a freshman from Peoria Richwoods, finished the scoring with a dunk. Cole also made a floating 15 footer.
Greg Stewart can be reached at 686-3202 or gstewart@pjstar.com.
ILLINI REPORT CARD
Frontcourt – A
Brian Randle tied his career high with 17 points, added a season-high eight rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. Shaun Pruitt scored 16, grabbed 11, handed out three assists and two steals. If those two continue to play like they did Friday, Illinois might prove its naysayers wrong.
Backcourt – C
Starters Trent Meachum, Chester Frazier and Calvin Brock combined for just 12 points and five assists against four turnovers. Guard play continues to be a source of concern for this team.
Bench – B-plus
Illini reserves combined for 32 points, their highest total of the season. Freshman guard Demetri McCamey was particularly impressive, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and dishing four assists. Look for him to take more of Frazier's minutes in the coming weeks.
Overall – B-plus
Loyola was 1-27 four years ago, and Patsos said he and his team were just happy to be here. So it's not anywhere near the level of competition the Illini will face in the upcoming Big Ten schedule, but the team played what senior Brian Randle felt was its most complete game of the season. Anytime you win by 30-plus and set records in the process, it's a good night.

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